Local woman racing in U-T California 10/20 sets her sights on qualifying for Olympics

U-T California 10/20

Natasha LaBeaud Anzures’ competitive running career began at the ripe old age of 6 or 7. Her elementary school staged an Olympics day and one of the events entailed who could run the most laps around a track.

In preparation, her recesses were passed not gabbing with friends but running round and round the track.

“What I wanted to do,” said Anzures, who competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, “was beat the boys.”

She did.

She’s 26 now and lives in Kearny Mesa but still enjoys running away from males.

“If anybody ever yells ‘Girl Power!’ during a race, I get that same pride when I was that young,” said Anzures. “I don’t know that that ever went away.”

Come 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Anzures will be at the Del Mar Fairgrounds starting line, competing in the first U-T California 10/20. The 10-mile race featuring 20 bands is the brainchild of race director Peter Douglass.

Douglass is one of the original partners in Elite Racing, which created the Carlsbad 5000 and Rock ’n’ Marathon series. Douglass lives in Austin now and started the Austin 10/20 two years ago. The U-T California 10/20 is the second event in what Douglass envisions will be a growing series.

“The 10-mile distance is kind of an untaken space,” Douglass said. “There’s room to create a new series, a new format.”

Anzures likes the 10-mile.

“It’s not one of those distances that’s going to kick you in the throat to where you can’t recover fast,” said Anzures, who won the Carlsbad Half Marathon last month.

Like any track and field athlete, Anzures has dreamed about the Olympics. She watched heart-tugging personal stories about Olympians on TV, then re-enacted it with herself in the role.

She watched in 2004 when Deena Kastor jogged into the Olympic Stadium of Athens, alone in third place. Kastor wiped away tears, becoming the first American woman to medal in the marathon since Joan Benoit won gold when the distance debuted for women at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

“I still get goose bumps,” Anzures said.

Anzures grew up in Folsom and qualified for eight high school state meets, four each in track and cross country. She ran collegiately at Georgetown and moved to San Diego in 2011.

Her training/work/school juggling act typifies the driven, disciplined long-distance runner. She works full-time writing content for a medical Website. She’s studying for a doctorate in public health.

She runs, on average, 120 to 130 miles a week, waking up at 4:30 a.m. on weekdays to log her heaviest workouts in the morning.

She has had dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship since age 4 and is awaiting approval to represent Canada in international competition. Canada is not as deep in the women’s marathon, and Anzures doesn’t hide why she’s switching allegiances.

“I’m just using something that I’ve had to my advantage,” she said. “I saw those Olympic rings when I was young and wanted them for a long time.”